Two Sides of a Coin
by Gemakai
Summary: There are two forces in knighthood. One is the Dark Knight and the other is the Holy Knight. Soon, these two forces must join to stop an evil arising. R&R please. Ch. 3 up!
1. The Dark Knight

Two Sides of a Coin  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own FFT or any of the characters in it. But I should cause if I did, then I wouldn't make Delita the evil bum he became, I would make him one of your greatest allies! ........Actually, I was glad you didn't FIGHT him, and all the times he was in a battle, he was HELPING you. But let's leave that be for now.  
  
Now then on with the story!  
  
A/N: Just to let you know, this is after the events in FFT  
  
***  
  
Prologue: The Knight of Darkness  
  
The warrior walked quietly and swiftly through the dead of night. The warrior's armor was that of darkness and the weapon to this fighter was a sword decorated with the blood of the ones defeated by it. As the warrior ran, the steps of running feet followed. Finally, the warrior found a dead end and turned around, finding knights accompanied by archers.  
  
"That's far enough!" One of the knights said, taking out his sword. "We have you now!" But the warrior did not respond with words, but it took out its weapon and aimed it at the knight talking. The knight felt a strange aura around him; a dark aura coming from above. Then, a sharp sting surrounded the knight, blinding him with pain.  
  
His pain vanished, but it only vanished because the knight had taken all the pain he could before his life faded. The life energy of the knight flew up into the red orb above him, which symbolized the blood of him. Then, the orb flew over above the warrior and the life energy of the knight went down into the warrior giving him the energy of the knight that just died.  
  
The remainder of the knights and archer stared in fear as they saw their leader die in one blow. They stepped back as the warrior stepped forward and when he took another step, they ran. Their running was even faster than when they were chasing the warrior. They heard the warrior's wicked laughter as they ran. The warrior's laughter echoed throughout the alley and it seemed to follow them wherever they ran to.  
  
The warrior sneered at the cowering forces as it sheathed its sword. Then, it walked back up the alley, which it ran down and it traveled down the road. The warrior's sword now carried the blood of another victim.  
  
***  
  
Gemakai: And the prologue is finished. Sorry if it's short. Most Prologues are, though, aren't they? Review, please. 


	2. The Holy Knight

Two Sides of a Coin  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own: FFT or any of the characters in it. So none of you can blame for that! .I also admit that there's something else from another game in this chapter, so please don't blame for that.  
  
With that said, let the story continue!  
  
***  
  
Chapter I: The Holy Knight  
  
Darion walked into the trade city of Dorter; the city that everything seemed to revolve around. Shipments from other continents would come in through the city of Warjils, who would send supplies to Dorter, which would then spread the resources to the rest of Ivalice. However, holding so much resources attracted many thieves and the resources came with high prices for the nobles and taxes forced many people to live in slums where thievery and murder were common. Darion was here on an investigation. Recently, a knight was found in the slums dead. Normally the ones who were killed were villagers with no way to defend them, so curiosity was arousing in throughout the city and it reached the Murond Holy Church. The church responded to this crisis by sending one of their knights to find out who murdered the mercenary knight and execute the heretic. The Holy Knight sent by the church had just arrived.  
  
He walked calmly down the streets of Dorter, looking around for someone to gather information. To Darion's surprise, no one was out on the streets. Maybe they were all cowering inside their homes, hoping to avoid any conflict with the killer. Darion stopped and turned his head to see the tavern of Dorter. He remembered something; before he left Murond, he was given a name of a thief who could provide valuable information to him. What was the name? Nick? Yes, that's right. Nick the Snitch some people called him. It was a miracle that he hasn't been killed by somebody that he ratted on.  
  
***  
  
Darion walked into the tavern where he was greeted by a large man, "What be your business here?" he said in a hoarse voice.  
  
"I'm looking for a thief. His name is..." But before Darion could finish, the large man had pointed to the bar, where a thief without his beret sat talking to a woman sitting on his lap. Darion proceeded to go to him.  
  
"..And then, when they surrounded me, weapons drawn, slowly closing in, I flipped out my knives and slit their sorry little throats!" Nick said in his British accent and laughed, "I swear, those mugs will never know what hit em and then, after I took em out, I..." He stopped, seeing Darion standing next to him.  
  
Darion's eyes looked at the woman, "It's in your best interest that you leave, miss." The woman stood up and walked away without question, and seeing that a Holy Knight was talking to her.  
  
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Nick said as she left. He looked back at Darion, "All right, what do you want?"  
  
"I'm looking for a heretic that killed a mercenary a few days ago."  
  
"Oh, you mean that guy who came in from Lionel? Yeah, sure I know em." Nick snapped his finger to get the tender's attention. "Hey Will, get us a couple o' beers, eh?"  
  
Suddenly, Darion took Nick's arm and brought it around his back and he pressed Nick's face into the bar counter. "Look, I don't have time for your senseless jabber. I have a job to do, and I mean to do it quick."  
  
"Ow! Ow!! Ow!!!" Nick shouted, "All right! All right, you mug! I tell you what you wanna know! Just let me go!" Darion did as Nick said and released him. He turned around, with an irritated look and said, "Jeez, what a mug you are. All right, listen up. There's this guy, Pat Bart, he's the son of Rudvich Bart; he lives down in Goug. You see, it's like this. Rumor has it that the fat bastard hired a bunch of people to go get this guy who stole something from em. A week ago, a Dark Knight came into town and shortly after him, a group of mercenaries." Nick reached for his knife and raised it in the air.  
  
"They said that a few days ago, before they found that knight dead, the mercenaries surround the Dark Knight and were about to gang up on em, when suddenly," Nick brought his knife and stopped it in front of Darion's face. "The Dark Knight pointed his sword at the mercenary leader and with one blow killed em. The other mercenaries were peeing in their pants as they ran from the Dark Knight."  
  
"So a Dark Knight did this? Are you sure it was a male?"  
  
"Actually, no's one sure if it was a man or woman. But they're certain it's a Dark Knight."  
  
"I see, I think I'll go check up on Mr. Pat, and I'll be seeing you around." Then Darion turned and walked to the exit.  
  
Nick called after him, "Fine, you stupid little mug! I'll see you around too!" Nick looked back at the tender, "Give me another beer!" Then, another thought occurred in his mind, "And where's that slut!?"  
  
***  
  
Darion began his travel to the east to the Aguoary Woods. After that, he would travel south to the Zirekiles Falls for rest. However, his cut short upon reaching the Aguoary Woods, for when he got there he found a group of hunters circling around something he couldn't see. Perhaps it was a chocobo or a goblin or some creature that had tried to attack them. But when Darion moved to get a better look, he saw that it wasn't a creature at all. It was a girl, battered and bruised, and although in a diamond armor, she had no weapon to defend herself with.  
  
"I swear I don't know what you're talking about." The helpless girl said to the group.  
  
"Enough, you fiend! Finally, our mission and revenge will be complete after we kill you!" replied one of the knights of the opposing group. "Now, give 'Scorpio' to us and we promise your death will be quick and painless." The knight drew his sword and leapt at the girl, who rolled away in time and kicked the knight in his side.  
  
"Why won't you believe me? I don't have Scorpio. I don't even know what it is!"  
  
"Lies! We won't be tricked by you, you wretch!" The knight replied. Darion heard all of this and wondered, were these men the other mercenaries and if they were, was that girl the evil Dark Knight rumored in Dorter? No, it couldn't be, for if she was as strong as the Dark Knight reported in Dorter, then she would have no trouble with these mercenaries. Darion intended to find out who this girl really was.  
  
"Enough!" He finally shouted, stepping into the view of the mercenaries. "This is more than enough! What are knights doing attacking defenseless women?"  
  
All of the mercenaries looked to Darion with their weapons drawn. "You are Holy Knight, yes? Sent by the high priest?"  
  
"That is I. Were you the ones who sent the request?"  
  
"We are. But it seems your help isn't needed. We have found and are about to execute the heretic ourselves."  
  
"You are certain this is the heretic? What proof do you have that it is?"  
  
"We hunted and our leader died to a Dark Knight. This one dons the armor of darkness, if you cannot tell." Darion could see that indeed, the girl's armor was as black as night, but that did not convince him.  
  
"There is more than one Dark Knight in the world, just like there is more than one Holy Knight!"  
  
"If you are not with us," the knight said, "Then you are against us!"  
  
"Foolish knaves! If you attack me, you will be branded as heretics!"  
  
"Your death will mean nothing to the high priest. To him, you are nothing more than a pawn!"  
  
"Silence! I will take your rubbish no more!" Darion charged forward, his platinum sword drawn and he swung at down at the leg of another knight, then he quickly brought it up and struck the mercenary's head. Then, he turned his wrist and thrust his sword into the chest of an archer. Looking up to the remaining forces, he saw three knights and two archers, and he was not alone in fighting them. The girl was also fending off the mercenaries by casting black magic spells. Two knights were near her, the archers were between the groups on knight and last knight was the closest to Darion, but he was near the two archers. Darion used this to his advantage and aimed his sword to the piece of land in between the knight near him and the two archers. "Life is short! Bury!" He chanted, "Steady Sword!" Suddenly, small blue crystals floated into the ground where the feet of the three mercenaries laid and it came up in the form of a larger crystal, ripping through the armor that protected them and piercing their skin. The hearts of the archer could not bare the pain and they gave in, ending their pain in exchange for their lives. The knight didn't die, but the pain forced his mind to freeze, disabling the knight ability to move or even think.  
  
Darion hurried passed the frozen knight and hurried to join with the girl, whose magic strength had diminish, but the other two knights, although burnt severely by the girl's magic, barred Darion's path to her. "Out of my way, you scoundrels!" They merely sneered as they brandished their swords in front of him. Then, they both dashed around him and attack him from opposite sides. Darion saw this and couldn't think of a way to counter the double attack. Suddenly, out of the corner of Darion's eye, a knife shot out of the shadows and struck one of the knights in the neck. How the knife appeared was a mystery to Darion, but it helped none the less. He turned to face the last knight and aimed his sword at him. "Absorb Lightning in the sky and Strike! Lightning Stab!" Three rays of electricity came down around the knight, trapping him as another bolt of lightning, stronger than the other three, rose from underneath him in the form of a giant sword and faded. The knight stood completely still, as if a weapon had gone through his chest and came out his back. He fell to his knees, gasping for the precious air that barely kept him alive. Then, he stopped gasping and breathing all together, and his soul faded from his body.  
  
***  
  
Gemakai- Hmm? So let me get this strait. Darion's the main character? Kora- Yep. Gemakai- And Nick is like that English guy, Kent Paul, from Vice City? Astar- Uh-huh Kora- And that girl in distressed is named girl? Kora & Astar- No... Gemakai- Uh-huh...I see... Well, Readers, please review this story now, I'm serious now about have 3 good reviews before I start the next chapter. 


	3. Allies and Foes

Two Sides of a Coin  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
Gemakai-(Searching through his stuff) Hold on! Got it! (Shows FFT) I do own FFT!!  
  
Astar-No, that's just a copy of FFT. Square owns the original.  
  
Gemakai-Oh, darn. I don't own FFT  
  
A/N: Oh happy day! Not only three but Four good reviews!! I'd like to thank: Number 9, Dark Knight Zaphyros (I'll consider one of those names), Uriko, and Rumtok the Fool (Jokes on you, pal, I got no toys, just my PS2, my PS2 games and PS1 games, so ha!  
  
***  
  
Chapter II: Allies and Foes  
  
Darion looked back to where the knife had come from and saw a figure stepping out of the shadows. It wore black leather clothing as if to blend in with the shadows around it. As the figure's face came into the light, Darion recognized it to be a face he had met with not too long ago.  
  
"What in God's name are you doing here?" Darion asked his savior.  
  
"Heheh! Did you really expect me to let you go off with the information I told you without paying?" The man in brown, whose face belonged to Nick said, "No bloody way in hell am I giving you free information, stupid mug."  
  
Darion sighed, "Fine! Have your way? How much do you want?"  
  
"Well, with the discount I will personally add for getting rid of these mugs. The minimum price comes to about ten million gil." Nick grinned after he stated his price. Darion just stared at him.  
  
"Excuse me, could you repeat that?"  
  
"Ten Million Gil and I want it in cash!"  
  
Darion's hand shot forward and grabbed Nick's shirt by the collar, "What on earth makes you think I have that sort of money?!"  
  
Nick struggled to get out of Darion's hold, "Hey! Let go! Is that a way to treat someone who just saved your ass?" The Holy Knight thought about this and finally released the knife-throwing thief. "Just as I thought. Now, just let me explain. I just learned that the information that I gave you was pretty damn valuable."  
  
"What do you mean just learned?"  
  
"You stupid mug! Don't you know what they were talking about?" Darion shook his head and Nick sighed, as he muttered curses about Darion's ignorance. Darion ignored this as Nick provided facts. "All right, look. This one's on me, because you have to know this sort of stuff! They were saying something about 'Scorpio' right? Scorpio, in the church's eyes, is one of the twelve Holy Stones and if what those mugs said is true, then our little damsel in distress here could have it."  
  
The two glanced at the girl, who was brushing dust and dirt off of the dark clothes that weren't hidden by armor. She looked up from her attire and noticed that the two were staring at her. That's when Darion got a good look at her face. It was paler than a normal human's, but it made her face look like it glow. Her eyes were sapphire blue and her hair a bright blond color like the shining sun in the spring. Darion's own light colored face turned into a light scarlet and he turned and lowered his head, not wanting Nick or the girl to see. "Um.You ask her about it?"  
  
Nick looked back at the Holy Knight, "What's wrong? Is she too pretty for you?" He laughed a bit, but stopped when Darion shot a death glare to him. "Fine, I'll ask her." Nick turned his body to the girl, "Excuse me, miss, but we were just wondering. About those things that those mugs were talking about; were they true? Do you have 'Scorpio'?  
  
"I don't even know what scorpio is; let alone have it."  
  
"I see. So, I guess those guys were only attacking you, because you were a Dark Knight?"  
  
"Well, I'm only became a Dark Knight recently. I only the Night Sword technique, but I swear I've never used it, unless I needed to."  
  
"But why," Darion spoke, "Didn't you use it when they attack you?"  
  
"You know how knights have the ability to break armor and weapons? That's why."  
  
"Why are you here?" The Holy Knight continued.  
  
"I was headed to Dorter from Lionel Castle to look into something, but before I got there, I was attacked."  
  
"Perhaps we are investigating the same thing. Are you searching for another Dark Knight that appeared in Dorter?"  
  
"Yes, I am. When I heard that a knight was killed in Dorter, I hurried to reach the city to investigate."  
  
"You went without any help? That was foolish." Darion commented.  
  
"Look whose talking." Nick replied. Darion just shook it off and resumed,  
  
"Who hired you?"  
  
"I can't tell you." was the simple answer that the girl made.  
  
"Then, why should we believe you?"  
  
"Please, don't misunderstand. It's not that I'm lying; it's just that I'm not sure if you're with or against us."  
  
Then Nick came back in to the conversation, "I don't blame you, missy. In today's world, it's hard to tell who your friend is and who your foe is. I'll respect your privacy for now, but I don't know about church-boy here."  
  
"Don't get me wrong, I'm like her. I don't know if she's my ally or enemy." Darion answered.  
  
Nick grinned and placed his left arm over Darion's shoulder, "You mean 'our' ally or enemy."  
  
"Our? As far as I'm concerned I just owe you a dept."  
  
"And I intend to get that money; the only way for me to insure that I get paid is for me to go with you." Nick laughed a bit before finishing, "Come on, it won't be as bad as you think."  
  
"Hmm, you're right; it won't be as bad as I think." Darion started, "It'll be worse."  
  
Nick lifted his arm off of Darion, "That's a low blow, pal!" He walked over to where his knife landed, still in the throat of the knight it struck. Darion and the girl watched him as he did something with his right arm and came back over to them. "Well, if we're headed to Goug, we better stop by Lionel first."  
  
"Wait! Why do you want to go to Lionel?" the girl asked.  
  
"Well, missy, I, like church boy, would like to know your boss and I have a group of mechanics to meet with there."  
  
"Mechanics, you say? Do you mean." The girl whispered something in Nick's ear, and his eyes grew wide.  
  
"Well, bloody hell! That's right!!"  
  
"Then, you are my allies!" The girl said, as she smiled at Nick. "Oh, he'll be please to know we have more on our side!"  
  
"Who is he?" Darion once again asked, "Since we are your allies then will you tell us?"  
  
"I could, but I know you wouldn't believe me. I didn't believe it either, when I first met him." The girl turned southward, "Let's go. We head to Lionel and there we'll plan our next course of action."  
  
"Hold it. Just tell me one thing." The girl glanced back at Darion, "Could I at least have your name?"  
  
The girl smiled. 'Wow, what a beautiful smile. Wait! What am you thinking, Darion?' Darion kicked the thought away and kept his mind open to receive the name. "I'm Sarubi Night; what are your names?"  
  
"Nick the Snitch; that's what people call me! Not only do I have the most facts about Ivalice's underground, but I'm a professional Assassin!"  
  
"And I'm Darion Arc, Holy Knight of Murond. Now, we should stop lagging and get going to Lionel Castle." And so, the three teammates headed Southeast toward Zirekile Falls and from there, strait South.  
  
***  
  
Gemakai-I'm terribly sorry, if that wasn't as good as the others. But this is a chapter, where they all learn a little something about each other. In this case, we learn their class and name.  
  
Oh yeah, I saw from another fic, Innocent Darkside (Which I suggest you DO read), the author put in character Bios. I've decided to do that, too, so here ya go:  
  
Darion Arc (Age: 21)  
  
A Holy Knight hired by the current high priest of the Murond Church. He does not enjoy talking to others so freely. In fact, he prefers to be alone than to travel with a group, but if he must, then he must.  
  
Sarubi Night (Age: 19)  
  
She is a Dark Knight in training and one that serves the light. Although, she is very quiet when not in conversation, she can be very cheery when talking in hopes to hide the sadness she bares.  
  
Nick the Snitch (Age: 22)  
  
He is a Professional Assassin extraordinaire and a real ass to those who get on his bad side. He's an example of an irresponsible and careless fighter, who, despite his carelessness, always seems to live through the hardest of battles.  
  
Pat Bart (Age: 28)  
  
He is the son of Rudvich Bart of Bart Company. He leads Bart Company just his deceased father did, but people say that he's taken Bart Company a turn for the worse. Unlike his father, Pat hires mercenaries to do his dirty work, and keeps his soldiers back at his hide out in Goug, which he has taken over.  
  
Mystery Dark Knight (Age: ??)  
  
The hunted for murder and theft. Not much is known about this knight of darkness; not even a name.  
  
Gemakai-And now for new classes, which there is only one in this chapter.  
  
Assassin-A man trained in the arts of thievery, infiltration and with pitch of mechanism. The Assassin's skills are attacks with status effects such as 'dead' or 'don't move' or 'don't act.' The Assassin is possibly one of the fastest special classes in Ivalice.  
  
Gemakai-There we go Please review! 


	4. Alive

Disclaimer: Must we really go through this every chapter. You people know I don't own FFT.

A/n: Just so I don't get bad mouthed about this. If you remember two chapters ago, there was one knight who was frozen because of the Stasis Sword. He's supposed to play a small part in the story, so don't flame me. Also, I've been getting review that there are too many Original characters. Trust me, people; there will be some familiar faces real soon. In fact, there should be one by the end of this chapter. Oh, and I apologize for prolonged wait.

* * *

Chapter III: Alive

* * *

Pat lowered his wine glass, looking away from the knight on the other end of the table. "Where are the rest of your comrades? Where's Thebos?"

"Well, you see, sir. We found the Dark Knight that stole the Holy Stone, but the knight easily overpowered us. The Knight killed Thebos as we escaped. We found the knight again and tried killing her, but we were attacked by a Holy Knight and an assassin."

Pat stared, not amused with the knight. "And even outnumbering them, you were miserably defeated and only you survived?"

The knight swallowed a lump in his throat, "Yes sir. I couldn't take them all on by myself."

"But you have no idea where they're headed. You disappoint me."

"Er...sir. They're going to Lionel Ruins. The Holy Knight's name is Darion Arc and the assassin is called Nick the Snitch! That's all I remember!"

"I see. Nick has finally decided to rebel against me and after all I've done for him." Pat chuckled and laid his wine glass on the table. "You have provided some good information. For that, I am glad. However, you still failed and for that I am extremely disappointed." Pat lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. Right after the snap, a man wearing a dark green mantle came out of the shadows behind the knight. "Since you have failed me, you are no longer useful. Deblen, you're my best man now and for your first assignment; kill this pitiful excuse for a knight." The knight glanced back at the man and reached for his sword, but before he could get a hold on the hilt, the man had stabbed him through his armor and into his fragile heart. A sickening sound was heard as Deblen pulled out his dirk and sheathed it in his belt. "Excellent work. Now, for your other assignments..."

* * *

The three traveled far to the south, stopping only to rest and eat. They reached Zirekile Falls by nightfall of that day they began their journey together. Darion rarely talked unless spoken to by Nick, and even then, the assassin would receive no more than a few words or simple silence.

When he spoke to Sarubi on the other hand, she would don a smile and reply in the most cheerful of tones. Even if her armor was as dark as the darkest night, the soul underneath shone as bright of the holy light of God. Darion glanced back at the two talking as they neared Zaland Fort City, mostly watching the female Dark Knight smile and laugh. Seeing her smile made him smile so slightly that none could possibly see it. Their second rest was at the tavern in Zaland0 and after receiving a room for the night, they sat at an empty table.

Then, Nick started, "Next is Barius Hill and after that is Lionel Castle. Well, I should say Lionel Ruins, shouldn't I?" The two knights nodded, for they knew, through rumors at taverns all over Ivalice, that the once famous Lionel Castle had fallen abruptly to ruin after the death of Count Draclau. It was just like the royal city of Zeltennia did, when King Delita and Queen Ovelia Hyral were murdered at the Zeltennia Church ruins. Since there were no more nobles to rise up to the throne, the seat was left empty and the people began to lose faith, changing most of what Ivalice used to be.

Darion planned their course and spoke it, "We'll set out in the morning. If our pace is good, we'll reach Lionel by the end of the day. When we get there, we should meet with your so-called 'master'." Sarubi merely nodded.

They retired early that night and left as soon as the dawning sun tore through the night's darkness. As they traveled, they noticed day was different than the two days before. One thing was that Nick acquired Darion's habit of not talking and the other was that Sarubi, who rarely talked at all, had become silent as well. Although, this was pleasing to Darion's quiet environment; he became worried.

They reached the summit of Barius Hill, before the Holy Knight turned and asked, "Did something happen? You two haven't said a word."

"If you really want to know, it's just that we're not entirely sure if you meeting our boss is gonna end well." Nick explained.

"What do you mean?"

Sarubi answered that question, "Well, you see, he, um, isn't entirely a favorite of the Glabados Church. Actually, they despise him the most and since you're with the church, we just thought if you knew that, you wouldn't come with us."

"Look! I'm not a part of the church. I am just a Holy Knight hired by them. Even if your master is the most evil in the church's eyes, I couldn't care less. I'll come, until I see no reason to go on." He turned back around and continued forward, thinking 'I'll just leave out the part of how blindingly beautiful Sarubi is. That's why I'm coming' He smiled and laughed quietly to himself. Unfortunately, his small bit of fun was short lived. As they moved over the summit of the hill, they heard the crunching of dried leaves before them. It was followed by three thieves, two black mages, and a man in a hooded cloak coming before them.

The hooded man stepped forward, "Darion Arc?" The Holy Knight made a step forward as well, staring at the man.

"That is my name. What do you want?"

"Believe me, it's nothing personal, but I'm here to kill you."

"You another of Pat's lackeys?" Nick commented, "You really think you can take us?"

"You have no idea who you're up against. Let me tell you that defeat is inevitable."

"And who are you to state such a prediction?" The Holy Knight asked.

"I am Deblen Vanlemer and that is all you'll need to know." Deblen reached into his mantle and took out a long recurved bow, shining with magic runes. His hand came upon his quiver of arrows and he took one arrow and readied it on his bow. "Now draw your swords."

Darion glanced back at Sarubi "You got a sword back in Zaland, didn't you?"

Sarubi nodded and unsheathed her new diamond sword. Nick flipped out his dirk as he taunted the bowman. "I'm gonna ripped out your lungs and feed em to a couple of red panthers, you stupid mug!"

Deblen didn't answer, for he was leading the five soldiers under his wing towards battle. Darion held his sword firmly in both hands and he thrusted it into the belly of one thief. He yanked it out, turned and struck the fiend's neck before an arrow streamed atop his snow-colored hair, barely missing him. He turned his head and glared at the archer who fired at him, but no one could be seen. Meanwhile, the other two thieves assaulted Darion from the sides. He saw this and raised his blade to the right to parry a down coming slash from one thief, and he quickly lowered himself to avoid the attack from the other thief meant for the back of his neck. Then, when it seemed as though it was impossible to even scratch the Holy Knight, another arrow flew into his arm and came out the other end. Darion glared up to the direction where the arrow was shot, but he saw no one.

While Darion battled single-handedly with thieves, Sarubi fought with wizards. The two mages formed flaming orbs in their leather covered hands and sent them soaring through the sky at such great speeds that it would've been impossible for a guardian of wind to dodge. Sarubi still held her ground, taking flame after burn after hell fire burn. She did this by using cure spells and potions to heal, when her health was critical. But it was known fact that one couldn't use magic forever. One would exhaust themselves by using up so much of their energy. Sarubi knew this, and even though the pain was great as the heat of the intense flames of hell, she just smiled at what the mages would do, when their energies were depleted.

When that time finally came, the Dark Knight took her sword and dashed forward. Once she was close enough, she aimed her sword at one wizard and chanted, "Master of all swords cut energy. Night Sword!" Suddenly, a crimson blood orb appeared over the targeted wizard. Small bits of dark energy hovered down to the feet of the mage and came back up in the form of a sharp bloody stone. The stone traveled back down into the pits of hell from whence it came, and the wizards fell to his knees, weakened but not dead.

The crimson orb of blood above him hovered over Sarubi, and sent down the life energy that was thieved from the mage, restoring her own wounds. She then charged towards the weakened mage and drove her blade through the wizard's neck. Blood slid down the back of the mage's neck and down the surface of the sword. Sarubi pushed the dead wizard off of her sword and look to the other, who was trembling with fear. Although, none could see the face of a wizard, Sarubi could tell how scared he was. She stared at him sympathetically, and mouthed the word, 'go.' The wizard saw this and hurried away from the battle, hoping never to encounter anyone like Sarubi. Sarubi could tell this and she lowered her head. However, her sorrow quickly ended for she could tell someone was in danger.

Darion couldn't retreat nor could he win. The two thieves that kept surrounding and blocking his path and when you can't use your arm, fighting is probably the worst thing to do. Have to a slash at his arm there! Damn, he blocked! As his blade locked with one thief's knife, the other thief stabbed Darion's shoulder, followed by another arrow to his leg. "Damn!" His eyes darted around, where was that archer coming from? Suddenly the thief in front of him raised his dagger to bring down on the Holy Knight's head. Spotting it before the thief had the chance to finish him, Darion rolled over to the side, wincing in pain as he pressed his weight onto his wounded leg, but he gritted his teeth, ignored the pain and slashed his sword back at the thief that had tried to kill him. But before the blade could make contact with the thief's skin, something pushed it off course and it sunk into the earth.

"What the devil?" Darion struggled to pull his sword up from the ground, but it was deep, and was difficult to pull up with one good arm. The two thieves grinned as they approached the defenseless knight. Suddenly one of them gacked as a knife shot through his chest, and he was pulled back, quickly. The other thief in fear after what could've struck his teammate, then suddenly received a lethal blow to his back as Darion managed to pull his blade out of the earth. He glanced up at Nick, who was, give or take, 50 meters away. The Holy Knight nodded, before receiving yet another arrow in his shoulder, causing him to fall over in agony.

Nick hurried over to his teammate, but before he could reach him, another arrow fired and shot through his leg, "Bloody 'ell!" he cursed as he tumbled to the ground. The thief looked up towards Darion and saw Deblen, slowly trekking towards the Holy Knight, bow in hand, and his olive-green mantle wavering in the plain breeze. He drew an arrow and aimed it towards the Holy Knight's head.

"I win..." he coldly stated. But just as he was about to release, a body threw itself against him, steering the arrow off its course and dug into the ground right by Darion's ear. As he was shoved to the ground, Deblen pushed away the woman that tackled him, and hassled to his feet. He brought up his bow and readied an arrow, but Sarubi slashed at it again before he could fire. Then, Sarubi brought her blade up to slash down at the fiend's head, but as she neared, Deblen's body seemed to phase to the Dark Knight's side and struck her chest with a swift kick. Sarubi stumbled forward, coughing and catching her breath for the few seconds she had before Deblen struck the back of her head and threw to the ground. "Hmph...a meaningless effort..." Sarubi stared up at the expert archer with fear as he drew one more arrow to aim at her. His fingers slowly began to slip of the feathers of the arrow, when he suddenly felt cold steel press up against his neck.

"Fire that arrow..." a mysterious man in white robes spoke "And it will be the last one you ever shoot." His blond hair, which was fading to an dull gray, hid his dark eyes. He was holding a powerful-looking blade, one that Darion, Sarubi, nor even Nick had ever seen before.

"Man...that's a bloody awesome weapon!" Nick could just tell.

Deblen merely grinned at this, and against phased out of harm's away and aimed the arrow at the enigmatic man and fire, but the man seemed phase to the side with tranquility as he spun and slashed at the mercenary's bow, cutting it in two. Now the offensive warrior turned defensive, as the man thrusts his weapon at Deblen's chest. Quickly drawing his dagger, Deblen batted the blade aside and tried to counter with his own stab, but just as he was about to strike, the man quickly seized his wrist and shoved him into the dirt, bringing his sword to Deblen's neck again. "Who..." The mercenary began, "the hell are you?"

"My name..." Suddenly, the wind picked up and the man's face was recognizable, striking terror into Deblen's heart. "...is Ramza...and I suggest you run back to your master..." Ramza took his sword away, and once he had the chance, Deblen scampered to his feet and ran southward, muttering curses about his defeat.

Meanwhile, Darion, who had managed to prop himself on his knee, stared at the mystery man with unbelief. "Ramza? ...The heretic?"

* * *

Gemakai: And there's Chapter 3 for ya. Damn it took a long time for me to finally finish, huh?

Astar: Hmm...I almost forgot about this story.

Kora: Me too! We should celebrate Gemy's victory! Get the Ramen!


End file.
